Hi, I am somewhat dissapointed today,,,,, I got my compost delivered and generally the quality seems fine. Inside of the 10 tons pile its really warm. When I showel it into my wheelbarrow it´s steaming. It smells as well "good". BUT,,,,,,, I have a problem with bringig it to my lawn,,,,,, there is pieces of roots, wood, bark in the compost which are apparentely still worked by bacteria and fungi. Those pieces are warm as well and feel soft. But if I bring this on my lawn , the wood-pieces will stay on top of the turf and only smallest pieces sink onto the soil. Even if I brush it in different directions, back and forward..... What can I do? Leave the compost on a pile until the wood decomposes further ? Or "filter" the bigger pieces from the smaller ones (lots of work probably). My father in law opts for anyhow throwing the compost to the lawn,,,,,,,,, but its not him that is going to ruin his new lawn-mower cutting bark, wood and roots with the next lawnmowing.... Any info welcome,,,, Thanks & a nice weekend,,,,,

Old socks, old kitchen tea towels, old t-shirts, old sheets/pillowcases, coffee filters make good small bags, old cotton shirts, etc. Cheese cloth is great and sold in the paint department. ;) Thin fabrics work better than thicker ones - anything that you can form into a bag shape. Dave

"Schmidt's Buff Giant" came from my garden. The original cultivar is still going strong and re-blooming in medium shade. We figure it is at least 80 years old. It is about 7-8 feet tall, and 15 feet across, and is growing inside a thicket, under several large trees. I agree with Vintage Gardens that it is Anna Olivier. I took it to the HRF meeting in CA in 2005, and the Tea ladies from Australia all identified it as Anna Olivier. Also, it agrees with every written description of that rose I have seen. It is, however, VERY mutable depending on the weather. Most of the time the blossoms are buff with a brick red reverse on the outside, as per the written descriptions I have seen. However, at certain times of year I have seen my bushes in full bloom with EVERY flower a uniform pale pink. At a different time of year, they have bloomed with EVERY flower a uniform pale yellow. However, I have never seen them look like the pictures from Sangerhausen, with a darker yellow in the middle and pale yellow/white on the outside. But, they have very different weather there than we do here, so who knows what this sneaky rose might get up to?

Pests would make new growth curly? And @Gumby... As I said, it is a cold pile and I am not able to use it more than once a year. I was thinking that it may have not been cured enough or something. I assume that when I use a new batch every year, that it may be different from the year before plus I changed the location of the pile.